No-one was caught in the act or while tossing the loot afterwards. But someone blew the whistle on 'the corrupt' after nearly a decade. The whistleblower was David Bazzetta, an auditor at DaimlerChrysler Corp, and the case is global bribery schemes by Daimler AG. Despite a settlement between the luxury automaker and the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reached early this month, shock waves haven't taken a break in Egypt. In what may be described as an auto Watergate scandal, Daimler was accused of making some $56 million in bribes related to more than 200 transactions in 22 countries, including Egypt, from 1998 until 2008. While many experts have called for toughening measures against graft in governmental agencies, others have said there is ‘no case' as far as Egypt is concerned. "Press statements don't prove a case like this. Daimler has admitted these illegal acts. But who was bribed in Egypt? Who did receive the bribe? Have these US official papers given any names, signatures or whatever?" Yasser el-Gamel, a Cairo-based legal consultant, asked the Egyptian Mail in an interview. "From a legal perspective, there's no case in Egypt. But parties concerned should investigate the matter and ask for documents from US officials. Once they have a name, there will a suspect. I doubt Daimler or US officials would reveal the names of those involved," el-Gamel argued. Mercedes-Benz Egypt, the wholesaler and distributor for the Mecrcedes-Benz passenger cars and its operations in Egypt, said in a statement Monday that it had "no involvement" regarding the US investigations with Daimler AG. "Daimler AG is a global company with multiple divisions operating in numerous fields of business and in many countries," the company said in the statement, a copy of which was obtained by the Mail. "It is no exaggeration to describe corruption and bribe-paying at Daimler as a standard business practice," Robert Khuzami, the Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said in a SEC statement after reaching the agreement. "The financial and reputational costs incurred by Daimler as a result are a lesson that should be studied closely by all companies," Khuzami said. Cheryl J. Scarboro, the Chief of the SEC's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit, described the bribery case as "so pervasive in Daimler's decentralised corporate structure". "It extended outside of the sales organisation to internal audit, legal and finance departments. These departments should have caught and stopped the illegal sales practices, but instead they permitted or were directly involved in the company's bribery practices," Scarboro said. In Egypt, experts have called on the Government to "dig into the case" and "unveil whoever was involved" in the global scandal. "Some leading companies draw on bribery to facilitate business in some Third World countries, including Egypt. Monitoring agencies should be on the alert in the face of such transgressions," said Ali el-Selmi, a former Minister of Administrative Development and member of the higher board of the opposition Al-Wafd Party. Motivated by a desire to make more profits, some transnational giants have recourse to skewed schemes. Centralisation and bureaucracy are a good environment for corruption to thrive, according to el-Selmi. "In fact, bureaucracy and centralisation in decision-making and lack of transparency are the main reasons for corruption," he explained. It's a win-win situation, where corporations pump more cash into their coffers and corrupt officials have their loot, and everybody wins! "Why don't parties concerned here ask US officials for the names of people involved in the case?" wondered Azab Maarouf, an economics expert. "There should be a thorough investigation as this matter affects Egypt's reputation. In terms of transparency, Egypt isn't doing well in the fight against corruption," he argued. Potential conflicts of interest in [Egypt's] governmental appointments and in links between prominent politicians and the business community have been identified as an issue of concern, the Berlin-based Transparency International has said in a recent report. "Major corruption loopholes are jeopardising Egypt's attempts to combat the problem, despite the existence of a broad range of anti-corruption laws and regulations," the civil agency said in its ‘National Integrity System Study Egypt 2009'. The report assesses the country's governance system, including the executive, legislature, political parties, the judiciary, anti-corruption agencies, NGOs and the media.
